Going through an expensive nightmare in trying to change reservation dates

[Sarah3825]

Here is my situation: my husband and I booked four nights in Roanoke for May. Now it turns out that we have to postpone our trip by a few weeks due to a family situation. I made a change request to the host. He came back and accepted but at four times what the initial reservation cost. So, instead of costing just over $400 for four nights, the price went up to $1600. I politely asked him via messaging if this was a mistake, as the dates surround our requested dates were $79 instead of $319. He replied that, no, this wasn't a mistake, that there was an Ironman event that weekend in Roanoke - note that we requested Saturday through Wednesday, yet the $319 applied to Monday and Tuesday nights as well. 

I went to the reservation and created a new request, requesting earlier dates with more reasonable prices - here is the issue: By creating a new date change request, the dates that cost $319 a night were automatically accepted!  The host received the acceptance and request for the new reservation simultaneously and then asked why I accepted and turned right around and requested new dates. I told him that I had NOT accepted but was looking for new dates only. I called Airbnb Customer Support and asked the representative for help. She offered to call the host and try to work things out. She called him and he flatly refused to accept my new date request. The host suggested that I cancel the reservation if I'm not happy with the cost. Note that the cancellation fee is half of the reservation cost plus services fees! So, I would be paying over $800 to cancel the reservation that originally only cost me $400! Does this seems predatory to anyone out there? When I submitted the new date request, there was NOTHING that told me that, by creating a new date change request, I was automatically accepting the current date change request. If the host continues to refuse to entertain my new request, I don't know how much leverage Airbnb has. If this is what comes to pass, the only recourse I can think of is to pursue this as a dispute through my credit card company. I have a travel blog (youandmeodyssey.com, if you'd like to take a look) and I would also create a posting on this so others will know about this.

I'm wondering if anyone else has gotten caught up in anything like this.

By the way, the host seems to have a MONOPOLY on Airbnb properties in Roanoke. 

Thanks for any suggestions you may have.

At this point, I've asked that my situation be escalated and have been told that someone will contact me via the Airbnb platform. 

[Emiel1]

@Sarah3825 

I am confused about some things:

When you change a reservation as a guest, the price for the new dates is caculated automatically.

So before submitting it you could see already new details.

"He (the host) came back and accepted but at four times what the initial reservation cost ".

The host can not change the price in the change-request you have sent.

So did the host created a new change request (as a host , with amended price) ?

"I went to the reservation and created a new request"

Please note an excisting change requests must be retracted before sending a new one.

[Sarah3825]

I did not see what the new price was until the host responded. At that point, I didn't decline (which clearly, I just should have) It never occurred to me that in simply creating a new date request that the Airbnb software would automatically put the request on the table in the "accept" category. I didn't check the price for the new dates when I submitted the change request - I simply assumed that they would be close to the dates of the booking I had made previously.

[Sarah3825]

Emiel, to be clear, this is what happened 1.) I sent a change of date request 2.) host responded that he accepted the date change and the price was reflected at 4x of the original booking 3.) I asked the host via the platform if this was a mistake, as the other dates surrounding my dates were 4x cheaper 4.) he replied that this was a special weekend, hence the high price 5.) I submitted a new date change and, in so doing, inadvertently accepted the one he had offered - by the way, there was no warning, no way I could have known that this would happen 6.) Host has refused now to make any changes, saying that I accepted the offer at the higher price.

[Emiel1]

@Sarah3825 

it is stil confusing to me why you did not see the price change in the change request you sent.The host can only accept or decline your change request (can not amend the price). That's what @Lisa723  also explained. After the host has accepted,  you sent a new change request, but business was done already !

I am sorry, but it seems to be your own mistake. That having said, the host appears not to be very flexibile to solve your issue , but he/she is legally not obliged to.  Next time be more alert on what is shown on your screen before submitting a change request !

[Michelle1851]

@Sarah3825 did you ask the host to help you,   I know I would as a host.  Michelle

[Sarah977]

@Michelle1851  You might want to reread the OP's post. The host has refused to do anything helpful.

@Sarah3825  You say this host seems to have a monopoly on Roanoke properties. There are many reports of difficulties dealing with big property-managers with scores or hundreds of listings. It's safer to book with established, hands-on hosts, who have a history of great reviews.

Hope you can work this out.

[Sarah3825]

Yes, I should NOT have booked with someone like him, however, I have had excellent experiences with hosts who make a full time living at this and host lots of properties, so it didn't bother me too much. At this point, I've booked over 50 Airbnb places in the past couple of years, so I do have a lot of experience locating/booking Airbnbs. I did not know that trying to create a date change on top of another date change would create this automatic 'accept.' As a host, did you know this?

[Sarah977]

@Sarah3825  No, I didn't know that, as I've never traveled as a guest, so have never read the instructions on date changes. And as a host, I've never had a guest make a date change, except for once, and it was unproblematic. But my price is the same, every day of the year, so there wouldn't ever be the issue you are facing.

[Sarah3825]

I did ask the host to help me. He has ghosted me completely - no replies. He has me where he wants me - if I cancel, he gets $800 and he will be free to sell the dates to someone else. This is the kind of person he seems to be.

[Lisa723]

@Sarah3825 when you submit a reservation change request, it is final as soon as the host accepts it. There is no additional follow-on step for you to approve or decline. So this had nothing to do with you sending a second change request. You may have missed the price change shown before you made the initial request, but it is presented to you before you submit the request.

I'm sorry that you've run into such a difficult person. Your best bet at this point is probably to contact Airbnb customer support and hope that you reach a sympathetic rep who will cancel the reservation for you with the same refund you would have received canceling the original dates. You might have to try more than once.

[Sarah3825]

Lisa, with all due respect, you are wrong about this. The guest receives the option to accept or not. What I received was a response with the price and two buttons: ACCEPT and DECLINE.

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[Lisa723]

@Sarah3825 With all due respect, I've been through the process many times as a host and as a guest, most recently last week, and I am not wrong about this. One party can propose a change request, and the other party can either accept or decline it. That's it. The initiating party sees the new price before sending the request, and the receiving party sees the new price before accepting or declining it.

If you received an option to accept or decline, that means that the host sent you a change request.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/913/how-do-i-change-a-reservation-for-a-place-to-stay

(When I first read this thread, I had little sympathy for your host. I am starting to feel some now, though.)